Dec. 11 – Are they really going to audit the Pentagon? That’s what the new Comptroller has promised. Will they find the estimated $6 trillion the Pentagon itself admits is missing? Don’t hold your breath! More likely it will be another example of the government covering up government malfeasance. Our view on what will likely come from it in today’s Liberty Report:

Thanks to the far-left policies coming out of California’s state legislature, Californians have spent the last month dealing with the highest gas prices in the country with a 12-cent increase on gas taxes.

This is just one example of how extreme-liberal policies harm the American people.

My conservative colleagues and I have been successful in stopping these dangerous policies from succeeding at the federal level, but Nancy Pelosi and her network of far-left activists are working around the clock to take back the majority.

We can’t let radical agendas like this prevail at the federal level – that’s what I’m working for in Congress.

Californians didn’t want this gas tax. They rejected it, but Governor Jerry Brown steamrolled over the needs of his state and increased taxes anyways.

The far-left thinks they can walk right over the needs of the American people and force their exorbitant taxes and regressive policies on us, but we won’t let that happen.

The FCC is voting Thursday on whether to repeal the “Net Neutrality” rule adopted in 2015.

Three years ago, the FCC passed a landmark rule that prevents internet service providers from favoring some sites over others – slowing down connections or charging customers a fee for streaming or other services. It gave Americans equal access to all the content that’s available on the internet – videos, social media, e-commerce sites, etc. – at the same speeds.

But the recently appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, wants to abolish “Net Neutrality,” and give telecommunications giants like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T the upper hand. His plan would:

Drive up prices for internet service. Broadband providers could charge customers higher rates to access certain sites, or raise rates for internet companies to reach consumers faster speeds. Either way, these prices hikes would be passed along to you and me.

Give corporate executives free reign to slow down and censor news or websites that don’t match their political agenda, or give preference to their content – for any reason at all.

Stifle innovation. Cable companies could severely hurt their competitors by blocking specific apps or online services. Small businesses who can’t afford to pay higher rates could be squeezed out altogether.

Broadband providers claim that Net Neutrality rules actually hurts consumers because it discourages investment in their networks. Rubbish. Since Net Neutrality was adopted, investment has remained consistent. During calls with investors, telecom executives themselves have even admitted that Net Neutrality hasn’t hurt their businesses.

There’s still time. Please help stop this corporate power grab over what we can say and do online.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says there should be more transparency in how sites like Facebook and Google restrict conservative content.

His comments come days before the FCC vote on whether to repeal “net neutrality” – a set of rules that currently forces Internet service providers (ISPs) to treat all web traffic equally.

Without net neutrality, your ISP could slow down a competitor’s content or block political ideas it didn’t like. This is already happening with content providers like Google, Facebook, and Twitter – all of which have been accused of restricting pro-Trump and conservative content.

“A lot of famous people have very strong opinions about net neutrality,” said Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “They warn if it’s repealed a handful of tech companies will have total control of the Internet. Wait, doesn’t that already describe the status quo?”

When asked what would prevent ISPs from censoring Fox News if net neutrality were to be dismantled, Pai told Carlson that such actions would require transparency and that the Federal Trade Commission would oversee content restriction. Pai’s criticism of content providers included examples such as YouTube’s crackdown on rightwing Internet personalities and Twitter’s move to block a pro-life campaign video by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

“A lot of these decisions impinge on the free expression online that we’ve all come to cherish. But there is no real transparency into how these decisions are being made,” says Pai, adding that while Facebook, Google, and Twitter have “blocked content willy-nilly,” ISPs have not.

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An estimated 66% of American adults get their news through social media sites. As The Hill’s Anders Aslund points out, these sites are generally treated as “nothing but private conversation.”

Aslund blames the lack of regulation for allowing Russia’s fake ads to appear on Facebook during last year’s election. “The social networks need to be regulated as other media are regulated,” writes Aslund. “Ordinary media would not allow such things to happen because they are regulated in numerous ways.”

Facebook and Twitter’s pathetic attempts to eliminate fake news prove they are not capable of pursuing self-regulation. Aslund believes future regulation should prohibit bots and anonymous accounts and prevent foreign citizens from placing ads on social media “in the same way as they are not allowed to contribute campaign financing in the United States.”

Social media platforms are no longer mere “technology companies,” writes Aslund. “Their time of political innocence is over” and “they must take responsibility for their content,” just like a newspaper or broadcaster.

6 –

Fellow conservative,

The mainstream media is having a field day attacking Trump.

And they want you to believe that Republicans and conservatives across the country are turning on President
Trump, too.